Cheer and chirp for the sparrow

This World Sparrow Day, BNHS has launched an initiative, Chirp for the Sparrow Tweet for the Sparrow, that urges twitterati and Facebook addicts to make some noise for the bird that loves humans

Out of 365 days in the calendar, the mighty small bird, the sparrow deserves a day. Not only because it is considered to be the most widely distributed bird on the planet but also because this petite creature is particularly fond of living around humans. With that idle time on Facebook and Twitter, celebrate the little birdie’s day by tweeting, talking, and spreading awareness through a Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) initiative on the mentioned social media platforms.

Atul Sathe, Manager Communications, quotes from a report the BNHS carried out as a citizen initiative that the society had undertaken, “The situation of sparrows is better in Maharashtra and Gujarat as compared to North and South India. Still, the population of sparrows is lesser than what it was earlier.”

He numbers out some crucial factors that are causing them to dwindle: “Smaller buildings are more conducive for sparrows to build nests but with the city’s changing skyline, pigeons ( a direct competition to the sparrows) and kites take over their habitats. Plus now, that most soil cover is becoming concrete, there are no bushes for the sparrows to rest on.

This also reduces the number of caterpillars and insects for them to feed on,” says Sathe. Another alarming reason behind their disappearance is the presence of mobile towers. Sathe emphasises that social media being a popular platform will help people share experiences, photographs and queries for a week. Chirp for the bird, we say!LOG ON TO www.facebook.com/events/1406229719636379/

Did you know?When sparrows were at their most numerous a century ago, there were many sparrow clubs whose members competed to kill the most birds in a year.